New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday took a dig at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi over his visit to the US, saying it may be a “forced vacation" as allies Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal wanted him out of the Bihar election campaign. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also took potshots at Congress, saying the party was now looking for a “face-saver" which was reflected from the “dichotomy" in its statements.

Congress had initially claimed that Rahul was on a personal visit but later said that he was attending a conference in the US. “Rahul needed a foreign vacation after holding two rallies and thinking hard about farmers. It appears that the feedback the leaders of grand alliance got from Bihar made them call Congress to send him on a forced vacation because his stay anywhere near Bihar is going to harm their electoral chances," Patra told reporters.

He said the two leading alliance leaders, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, had “shown Rahul Gandhi his place" by staying away from his Bihar rally. They had also made Congress chief Sonia Gandhi speak before them at another rally, he said. Mocking the Congress’ explanation that Rahul will attend a conference in Aspen, US, he said the Congress leader was an “expert without knowledge" and he had never heard of him attending any similar event in India and sought to know the details of the meet.

Recalling Rahul’s 56-day sabbatical during the budget session, Patra alleged that he was not meant for any responsibility. The alliance is already fighting charges of “arrogance and jungle raaj", he said, adding that Rahul’s presence would have added the issue of corruption against them. These political parties should clarify about this, Patra said.